Certain cookware items such as skillets, lids for pots, and cutting boards, can be challenging to store in a cabinet. Cutting boards can be stacked one atop the other, but removal of a board placed on the bottom can be tricky and may require removal of all of those on top. Similarly, skillets or frying pans can be stacked, but removing a lower pan from the stack can be an awkward exercise. Lids may not be stackable at all, or at least not feasibly when trying to stack more than two. Ideally such items could be stored in a horizontal position, held in place against falling over, thereby allowing for both efficient storage and easy removal. Existing devices provide insufficient structural support for heavy objects, or provide a complicated structure for reconfiguring and repositioning supporting dividers.
One example of a wire shelf having an adjustable divider is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,460,710. This patent illustrates a moveable vertical divider which slides along horizontal wires. A center portion is included in the bent-wire divider, but the center portion stops short of the wire shelf, and provides little support as a result. Another example is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,471. In this case, the wire support structure includes a foot which must be inserted into a central channel, resulting in a structure which is difficult to remove and reposition. The outer edges of the wire divider are also merely resting in an open-top channel, providing less support than would be desired. A cookware rack in accordance with the present invention provides improvements over the prior art designs.